Elon Musk tackles the two-party system

By Greg Orman
Real Clear Wire

Elon Musk’s July 5 announcement that he’s starting a new political party could be consequential, but only if the world’s richest man maintains a sustained interest in the effort.

Over the past three decades, a number of billionaires have flirted with the idea of starting a third political party or otherwise funding an independent movement to challenge America’s existing two-party duopoly. Unfortunately, their support for an alternative to our dysfunctional major parties seemed to be rooted in personal ambition rather than a genuine belief in the desperate need for a third force in our politics. As a result, when those ambitions waned, the interest of these political patrons evaporated.

The Reform Party, an outgrowth of Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign, had relevance for a brief period – until Perot’s 1996 presidential campaign fizzled out. As Perot exited the political arena, resources for the party dried up.

Another promising approach – the well-funded independent movement – was announced with great fanfare by Michael Bloomberg in 2007. Bloomberg certainly said all the right things, at least initially.

“The politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralyzed decision-making,” he proclaimed, “and the big issues of the day are not being addressed, leaving our future in jeopardy.”

While Bloomberg supported a handful of candidates (including me) and causes during his time as an independent, since Donald Trump’s ascendancy the former mayor of New York has reverted to his roots as a deep-pockets Democratic donor. In 2020, Bloomberg ran for president himself. The results – he spent $1 billion of his own money on an unsuccessful four-month campaign in the Democratic primaries – paradoxically bolstered the view that the Democratic Party and the GOP are too entrenched to be challenged.

Starbucks coffee mogul Howard Schultz, who also explored running for president in the summer of 2019, promised significant resources for political reform after ending his flirtation. In his letter to supporters when exiting the race Schultz asserted, “My belief in the need to reform our two-party system has not wavered.” He pledged to spend “the years ahead supporting bold and creative initiatives to transform our broken system and address the disparity of opportunity that plagues” our nation. Reform organizations are still waiting for that support to kick in.

Elon Musk could be different. As a foreign-born U.S. citizen, he’s not constitutionally qualified to be president. His support for a new party, therefore, can’t be rooted in a personal ambition for the highest office in the land. While some may posit that the effort is merely vindictive – a way to undermine Trump – I’m hopeful it’s based on something else.

Even Musk’s detractors should be honest enough to admit that he’s an innovative problem solver. Electric vehicles were around for more than 180 years before Musk and Tesla commercialized them in a significant way and made them the fastest growing propulsion type for the foreseeable future. SpaceX ended the reign of another duopoly, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, over space transport. Solving significant “unsolvable” problems along the way, SpaceX can launch rockets at half the cost of Boeing’s Starliner. 

It doesn’t take a mind like Musk’s to realize we face significant problems in Washington. Our debt levels are unsustainable and threaten our standard of living, our status in the world, and the very existence of the middle class in America. Technology is moving at a breathtaking pace, potentially upending most Americans’ relationship to work and purpose. Numerous other unsolved problems are festering. Musk’s announcement suggests he’s identified the root cause of those problems – a broken and corrupted two-party system more interested in seeing the other party fail than in seeing our country succeed. 

Having spent four months deep in the bowels of Washington, Musk likely saw a complex problem that wasn’t being addressed by the current elected officials, political class, and bureaucracy. The challenge of fixing it obviously appeals to Musk. Building a third force in our politics, however, will require him to solve a problem potentially more vexing: how to change the psychology of voters who have been infected with two interrelated myths.

The first myth is that independent (or third party) candidates can’t win. Partisans have used this mantra to diminish compelling candidacies for decades. Supported by a complicit press corps and political “scientists” who employ pseudo-scientific shibboleths like  “Durverger’s Law,” both parties work in concert to dismiss competition. As a result, there’s a certain gravitational pull placed on independent candidates that makes winning deeply challenging, particularly given the other advantages that partisans have.

The second myth is that a single voter can change the outcome of a statewide race. In truth, there’s not a single American alive who has had their vote determine who won a statewide race. You have to go back almost 200 years in American history to find a statewide race determined by a single vote. Partisans use these two myths to get voters to vote against candidates they hate and fear, instead of voting for candidates they love or who inspire them. “If my vote is consequential, and my candidate can’t win, I need to vote against this horrible person or party,” the thinking goes.          

The problem with this approach is that it’s a bridge to nowhere. It detaches accountability from elected officials. To win elections, they don’t need to solve problems or improve their constituents’ lives. They simply need to make Americans afraid. With the tens of billions of dollars spent on negative advertising over the past two decades, fear and hate are synonymous with partisanship. 

Musk, however, has experience vanquishing myths. The Tesla Roadster immediately negated the belief the electric vehicles were unreliable and low quality. Space X made the belief that rockets couldn’t be reused a thing of the past. With Musk’s track record, he may be just the person to destroy these two myths. Doing so would send an unmistakable message to elected officials everywhere – you can’t go to Washington, D.C., and hide behind your party label. You have to solve problems. This was the reason I ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and hopefully the reason Musk is standing up the America Party. 

Greg Orman is a Kansas entrepreneur, author of “A Declaration of Independents,” and a former independent candidate for governor and senator of his state. His website is www.greg-orman.com.

* * *

••• Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.